


Each Beginning

by Bakuzan Gako (hanap)



Category: Kill la Kill
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 09:45:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5622940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanap/pseuds/Bakuzan%20Gako
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A look at the events that transpired before the original Life Fiber was destroyed. Pre-KLK storyline.</p>
<p>(Character tags will be updated as the story progresses so as not to spoil anything!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Each Beginning

His first memory of her is colored with childish awe and fascination. Sitting alone reading a book, he took a moment to wipe the lens of his glasses. Suddenly a paper doll dropped into the pages as he was asked by a lilting voice, “Do you think this blouse matches this skirt?” He put his glasses back on and looked up into a pair of the bluest eyes he’d ever seen in his young life. 

Even as a child she already had that aura of charisma and authority, but more than anything she was utterly charming. He’d seen her before, but they had never spoken; he only knew that she was his uncle’s young charge, a little girl that everyone paid obeisances to everywhere she went. She paid close attention to everything that happened around her, but she herself rarely said a word. Often she carried a small brown stuffed bear with her, and while she did not play with it, she held it close, never allowing anyone to touch it.

For some reason he had no qualms about acceding to this girl’s unspoken request. This girl, he’d decided, was not going to poke fun at him, or force him into playing games with other unruly children. She knew what it was to be different, and to be alone, and this was something they both understood. “Come play with me,” the voice said, and the book slid out of his lap facedown onto the ground as he stood to follow her. She took his hand and led him to the table where she had laid out an immense assortment of dolls and art materials. 

Soroi had never been so surprised. He had yet to see his young nephew socializing with another child of his own accord, and yet here was the young mistress effortlessly leading him out of his shell. He smiled as he watched the two children amuse themselves, cutting out clothes and amusing themselves, and each other.

She whispered to him, “I’m going to be a big sister! So help me learn how to be a good one, Shirou. We’ll play with my new sister when she’s big enough and she’ll love clothes and dolls like we do!” He’d nodded and smiled in agreement - clothes weren’t such bad things after all when someone like her loved them as much as you did, despite what everyone else said about boys playing with dolls.

His uncle brought over two cups of steaming tea and a plate of cookies on a small tray for them. She took a nibble of one cookie and grasped a teacup delicately in one hand, blowing on it gently, and set it down in front of him. She reached over for the other cup and blew on her own tea to cool it.

"They've never let me have tea before. But today is special because we're together!" she whispered to him conspiratorially, and motioned to him to hold his own cup. Now that the translucent amber liquid had cooled enough for them to drink, she clinked her cup gently against his own. "Try it!" 

Obediently he took an experimental sip and considered the taste. Bitter, but filled with soothing warmth. He took another sip and glanced at her over his cup. She too looked slightly puzzled, but she smiled and thanked his uncle sincerely.

"It is delicious. Thank you, Soroi. Would you like a cookie?" She held out the plate to him, which he refused graciously. 

She took another bite of her cookie and smiled at him secretly. "Do you like it? It's not at all what I expected," she said quietly, and giggled as she made a face.

"It does taste rather funny, doesn't it? But somehow, it makes me feel very comfortable. Don't you think?"

She brightened up at that. "Yes, that's exactly it!" she beamed, and handed him a cookie from the plate. Cookie in one hand, teacup in the other, they clinked their cups together once more and laughed as they sipped their tea.

—

The next time they met, her eyes were just as large and blue as he remembered. But this time they were filled with deep hurts that his young mind could not comprehend; it was as though she had aged years and years since he last saw her, though it had really only been nine months since he had last been sent to stay with his uncle. The stuffed bear of old was gone. He’d heard it in the whispers in the house - something terrible had happened, and she no longer had a father, nor a sister. 

They no longer played as they once did. In fact, he rarely ever saw her. She was withdrawn now, quiet in a different way than she had been before, even hostile sometimes. Sometimes he would catch glimpses of her: walking in the hallway, seated in an ornately furnished room, standing in the courtyard amongst the flowers. Sometimes there would be another little girl with her, with bright pink hair and a pet monkey, though she did not seem to care much for her presence. At these times, her eyes did not carry the same heavy burden they did before. They were simply vacant, staring at nothing. Once, he approached her as she stood looking out at one of the estate’s many opulent gardens through an open window. 

“Satsu,” he said. 

She’d turned around at that, and looked at him blankly. He watched as one small hand clenched and unclenched, and she looked back out at the garden. The wind blew gently, ruffling her black hair and shielding her eyes from view for a brief moment. When she looked back at him, her eyes were filled with tears. He’d said nothing more, but took her hand as they stood side by side and watched the rippling fountains and the birds flitting in the trees for a long while.

She withdrew her hand and looked at him again, her gaze piercing as her eyebrows contracted, an expression he would grow to be familiar with over time. There were no tears now as she held her head high.

“I am Lady Satsuki,” she said. Her voice was cold and authoritative.

—

His uncle is the only family he has left, now. The Kiryuins, out of deference for his long years of loyal service, has allowed him to stay at the mansion and live with him. In the modest quarters they are allotted, he lives quietly, focusing on his studies and his passion for sewing. His masterpiece, a beautifully cut menswear-inspired female pantsuit, was suddenly “borrowed” one day from their quarters through his uncle. The REVOCS Corporation, already making a name nationwide, just as suddenly took him in as an apprentice to one of their top designers.

“You must thank her,” his uncle tells him, and this is how he learns that she had taken it upon herself to do this. For him. He is stunned at the thought. But he knows he must do as his uncle says. 

He visits her at the room which she uses as her office. It is large, and intimidating, with a collection of katanas mounted on one of the walls serving as the only decoration. Large computer screens are arranged around the desk where she is seated. She rises from her desk as he enters, though she does not turn around when he speaks. She is still dressed in her school uniform.

“Thank you for sparing me the time, my lady,” he says as he bows low. “My uncle has told me of the great favor you have given me… I have no words to thank you for this. I am greatly indebted to you.” 

“I have great expectations of you, Iori, and no doubt that you will succeed,” she says, and though the voice and the words are cold, the sentiment warms him to the core. “I am sure your skills will serve us well.”

He looks up at this, surprised. “Of course, my lady. I would devote all my time and energy to whatever it is you asked of me.”

Finally, she turns and meets his gaze. Her blue eyes are cold as ice, and are framed by dark circles. Her eyebrows remain contracted in the fierce glare she is now known for - few people can hold her gaze. It costs all the effort he can muster but he knows that if he lowers his eyes now he would be doing her a great disservice.

“Do you mean that? You do not know what you are asking for.”

“It does not matter, my lady. Not if it was something you asked of me.”

This is how he knows she needs him, to serve her with the same unwavering loyalty and faith that his uncle possesses. He knows this is what she needs, because this is what she herself has lost - faith in the best of others.

**Author's Note:**

> I opted for "Satsu" rather than "Sats" as many other fic authors do - mainly because it would be more appropriate for a Japanese name (since normally Japanese words would not cut off in the middle of a syllable).


End file.
